CEF applies to invalidate oil sale contracts

Johannesburg - South Africa’s state-owned Central Energy Fund has applied to invalidate 2015 contracts for the sale of crude oil to Taleveras Group and joint ventures led by Vitol and Glencore.

The sale of 10 million barrels of oil reserves by the CEF’s Strategic Fuel Fund when prices languished near an eight-year low was probed by the Energy Department.

The CEF filed a founding affidavit on March 12 to declare the contracts invalid, spokesperson Jacky Mashapu said in a text message. He declined to comment further.

The Strategic Fuel Fund had previously described the transaction as a rotation of stocks, and in October Taleveras said the fund should have used the proceeds of the sale to buy fresh reserves.

Glencore declined to comment. Vitol and Taleveras didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER